“Poor drainage commonly found in Asia will be no issue here” – Iceland Cricket wants to host 2025 Champions Trophy amid hybrid model talks
Iceland Cricket has expressed its desire to host the 2025 Champions Trophy, scheduled for February and March in Pakistan.
The reaction comes amid hybrid model talks due to concerns that India might not travel to Pakistan for the 50-over tournament over political and safety concerns. The cricket board even pointed out that they have a better drainage system compared to Asia.
Iceland Cricket wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“The Icelandic Cricket Association would like to place on record our interest in hosting the Champions Trophy tournament in 2025. We are responding opportunistically and enthusiastically amid widespread rumors that the tournament will not be played in Pakistan.”
It jokingly added:
“We are hearing that a hybrid model will be preferred for the tournament. We have the intent, the fan following, and the available rocky land to host an excellent tournament. Our volcanic ash soils are reported to have the highest infiltration rate of any in Europe, so the poor drainage commonly found in Asia will be no issue here."
Eight nations, including hosts Pakistan, have already qualified for the 2025 Champions Trophy. They are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa. The Men in Green won the last tournament in 2017 under Sarfaraz Ahmed's captaincy by defeating India by 180 runs in the final.
“Complete absence of constructed venues at the time the hosting rights were awarded” – Iceland Cricket says ICC granted 2024 T20 World Cup rights to the USA despite lack of proper venues
Iceland Cricket also mentioned that the 2024 T20 World Cup rights were given to the United States of America despite the lack of proper stadiums.
“Critics of our proposals may wish to highlight the absence of any cricket ground. This need not detract from our proposal and we note with keen interest the ICC’s willingness to embrace the bid of the United States for the upcoming T20 World Cup of 2024, despite the complete absence of constructed venues at the time the hosting rights were awarded.”
It added:
“If you would like to discuss our proposal in more detail, we are happy to communicate online and we are also willing to develop a 3D virtual reality model of our future grounds.”